Writings

Silent Hill 2: Thoughts and wanders.

Major spoilers ahead.

Upon the midst of the day you encounter yourself gleaming the view at the Toluca Lake's observation deck. The fog, that overarching mist that hurts the eyes and rambles the head, is swimming in the lake's surface and weaving betwixt the towns streets & buildings. Dusk is coming. The corpse of your dead wife is on the back seat of your car and you have reached Silent Hill to kill yourself resembling a kind of a double suicide so you can be forever together. The two of you, in your "special place".

And as such, James Sunderland begins his peregrination, a voyage to his desire, understood as a production of the machinic production of the self. James wakes up in the public restrooms of the observation deck, just some distant away from Silent Hill. His reflection conflicts him just seconds into the game --an act of self-recognition in the reflected image of the mirror, the theme White Noiz welcomes us along with a deep breath of James as he rubbed his face. Just the first moments in-game serves us as prelude of what it is to come. More over, it has been theorized that him running his hands over his face like that resembles a lucid dream technique people use to see of they are awake or not. And as the soundtrack changes, Mary comes out to read us her note, that she is waiting for us in our "spacial place". Also, the abandoned and ruined appearance of the restroom is a glimpse of what we will encounter further in time, not only in the world itself, but also in its wicked form, the nightmare known as Otherworld, though Silent Hill mythology and as such, the Cult, do not take much relevance in Silent Hill 2, we will not venture unnecessarily into it, however I do encourage the reader to find out about it as it is an interesting source of lore to the series in general.

When reaching the forest down the observation deck, leaving the car's door open -presumably "letting" Mary get out, for her to reach the hotel, in some way- perhaps because, as we know, James had been drinking a fair bit to escape his reality, so he lacks of obvious mental stability. James ventures down the forest trail and into the fog, until reaching the graveyard midway to the eastern side of Silent Hill. The town is known to attract those with darkness in their hearts, and thus we are introduced to Angela Orosco, who, like James, had come to town in the search for someone, her mother. I do not think a linear relating narration of the game will get us any further, so lets get into the crux.

James Sunderland psyche is sentenced by the manifestations that the town spawns for him as a punishment for his sins: lust, guilt, and desire for self punishment. Maria, just like Red Pyramid Thing, and the rest of beings in Silent Hill, apart from the other two living people in town, are a manifestation of James' desire production due to Silent Hill's mythological background. What this means is that Silent Hill may function as a judgmental terroir, a territory that expels the inner experience in immanent representations of carnal desire. The psychic landscape of Silent Hill works as a space that brings to the surface repressed & unconscious desires, presenting them as tangibly nightmarish experiences. The machinic production of the self, suggests that the self is not a fixed, unified entity but a complex assemblage of desires, affects, and social forces. It is constantly in a state of becoming, influenced by various external and internal factors. Here, the protagonist, James Sunderland, and as such, his journey through the town becomes a process of machinic production, wherein his desires and guilt manifest as external entities and events. The characters he encounters, like Maria and Pyramid Head, or the mannequins, Bubble Head Nurses, the lying figures, the flesh lips, the mandarins hanging through the fences (though the creepers, those cockroach-like creatures, are not derived from James’ psyche but rather as an homage to the first game. And as assented in Lost Memories: Silent Hill Chronicle, these hallucinations could originate from the inherent power of the town, potentially resulting from remnants of the previous game events), are not separate individuals but manifestations of his own desires and conflicts.

Near the end of the game we encounter these nine red squared sheets that work as the last save point, these nine squares obviously symbolizes the nine manifestations that James encounters in Silent Hill, Pyramid Head, the Lying Figures, the Mannequins, the Mandarins, Flesh Lips, the Bubble Head Nurses, Maria, and Mary. Other character which produces and immanent configuration of darkness into Silent Hill is Angela, who is a survivor of sexual abuse by her father and brother, which emerges as the creature known in-game as Abstract Daddy. Here the two inner experiences coordinate in time and space, being the creature a memoire of Mary in his deathbed. The symbolism of Abstract Daddy aligns with the framed portraits that Angela gazes at in the staircase of the Lakeview Hotel, when James and her encounter in the fire before finally committing suicide off-screen by walking up the stairs into the fire.

In the world of Silent Hill 2, the peregrination of James Sunderland through the town becomes a transformative journey, where his desires and sins; within this chaotic labyrinth, James's desires and guilt manifest as immanent configurations. The characters he encounters become intensities, embodying affective encounters that challenge his fixed notions of self and morality. They are rhizomatic becomings, unfolding and mutating as James's journey progresses. As he navigates the dark and nightmarish landscapes, encountering symbolic representations of his inner struggles, James is confronted with the depths of his own psyche. The haunting presence of Maria, the Pyramid Head, and other manifestations reflects the machinic production of his inner lamentations, where the boundaries between reality and the subconscious blur. Silent Hill itself operates as a desiring-machine, drawing forth repressed and unconscious desires into tangible nightmares. The town's immanent power, derived from its mythological background, unleashes a schizoanalytic process upon James, forcing him to confront the darkest corners of his psyche.

Ultimately, Silent Hill 2 explores the complexities of human nature and the profound impact of guilt and desire on an individual's psyche. Through its atmospheric setting, psychological symbolism, and introspective storytelling, the game invites players to delve into the depths of their own fears, regrets, and hidden desires.

Silent Hill 2 stands as a testament to the power of video games as a medium for introspection and exploration of the human condition.

(note: play the rest of the games for an analysis on the mythology and world-building in the series///maternity, sexuality and theogony)